(Bloomberg) -- NatWest Group Plc bought back £1 billion ($1.29 billion) of its shares from the UK government as the Treasury continues to sell down its stake in the lender. 

The off-market purchase of 262.6 million shares brought the Treasury’s voting rights in the lender to about 11.4% from about 14.2% previously, according to a statement. 

The transaction is the first time that NatWest has done two directed buybacks in a twelve-month period. It comes after regulators simplified the country’s listing rules earlier this year and shareholders approved a plan that would allow it to increase the limit of directed share buybacks to 15%, up from about 5% previously.

“This transaction represents another important milestone on the path to full privatisation,” NatWest Chief Executive Officer Paul Thwaite said in a separate statement. “We believe it is a positive use of capital for the bank and for our shareholders and we are pleased with the sustained momentum in reducing HM Treasury’s stake in NatWest Group throughout this year.”

The UK government has been rapidly selling down its stake in NatWest this year after ending last year with about 38% voting rights in the company. The wind down has come through both directed buybacks as well as a series of open market sales in recent months.

Under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, UK officials had been formulating plans to sell the shares the government holds in the bank to retail investors as it sought to offload the entire stake by 2026. The Labour Party, which won the election, has since abandoned those efforts. 

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has considered offloading a substantial portion of the government’s stake to institutional shareholders, Bloomberg News has reported previously. 

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